Historical Sites of Grand Rapids

 

 

Samuel Foote
(Lot 14, Block 5)

The family monument for the Foote’s is marked by a large granite structure reminiscent of a Greek temple. A smaller memorial for Samuel Foote, from his sons, contains a history of the family.

NOTE: The Victorian Era represents the heyday in monument making. This is the period after slate and before bronze. Granite, marble, limestone and sandstone are all used. A dramatic transition from flat stones takes place. Three-dimensional stones are now the trend. The style is more elaborate, no longer is the grave marker just a functional tool to mark a grave.

The Victorian period encompassed many styles and designs including Neo-classical, Italianite, and Gothic Revival. The Victorians were more affluent than at any time before and their attitude was "If you’ve got it, flaunt it!" And flaunt it they did. Their monuments were ornate and sentimental, often combining styles. If a little ornamentation was good, more was better.

If the Victorians appear overzealous in their use of symbolism it was a reaction to the harshness and emotional restraint of the previous centuries. They had a romantic attachment to death. All of these moods, sentiments, attitudes and cultural changes merged around 1840 and coincided with the founding of the earliest modern cemeteries. Prior to the Victorian era cemeteries were in the churchyard.